Is Christ Divided?

To many it is of utmost importance to reunite the churches into a visible unity. This begs the question, is Christ divided? To them the dividedness of the churches reflects a dividedness in Christ.

But is Christ divided? The Sacred Scriptures say that He is not. As it was in Corinth, so it is in our congregations today. One says I’m of Apollo or of Zikmanis or of Bušs, the other says I’m of Paul or of Peter or of any other preacher that suits my fancy. The fallenness of man makes such divisions.

Christ is not divided. We are. Our broken hearts. Our sinful nature.

Christ established His one Church as a Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church, which cannot be seen by the naked eye, but perceived by faith as we confess in the creeds. Even as the communion of the saints (past, present and future) can be seen by God alone, so, too, can His Church be seen by Him alone. Any unity we perceive is in part, as we can only see in part, as through a mirror dimly.

The dividing of His Church into various confessions, I believe, was the work of sin in fallen man. Any attempt by fallen man to restore to visible unity the Church of Christ will result in further division.

If and when Christ desires to restore visible unity to the churches is a matter best left to Him alone. Perhaps visible unity is important to fallen man as tangible evidence, a sign of Christ’s godhead. Even as a wicked and adulterous generation in Christ’s time was denied such a sign, so too, perhaps, our generation is denied the sign of visible unity.

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